Tag: radicalization

Espoir 18 in Montreal

Since 2019, the ICPC and the Parisian association Espoir 18 have been working closely together on a project on improving police-population dialogue, with a particular focus on youth and minority groups in their relationship with the police institution. The aim of this project was to document inspiring experiences and practices on both sides of the Atlantic, but also to promote the transfer of knowledge and establish collaborations around this theme.  

Espoir 18 is an association that works for the integration and socialization of more than 2,000 young people between the ages of 6 and 30 in certain working-class neighborhoods of Paris, through cultural, artistic, and sports activities. As part of its mission to support success and prevent delinquency, the association is involved in the deployment of a variety of reference initiatives, ranging from the creation of artistic projects to the organization of international mobility trips. 

As part of this collaboration, a team from Espoir 18, consisting of around thirty people, including twenty young people from the association, was in Montreal from 8 to 12 July 2022. This mission was part of a North American tour, notably in Washington and New York, of two reference theatrical performances, Bad Mama and Lettres à Nour, after a year of touring in French cities.   

We are very glad to have welcomed them to Montreal.    

The plays address multiple issues, concerns, aspirations, and realities that contemporary youth go through, especially in certain disadvantaged territories: daily life, radicalization that can lead to violence, identity issues, relationships between generations and with institutions, as well as other subjects. Moreover, Bad Mama is a co-development project, which started in 2019, between young people and youth workers, directed by Farid Abdelkrim, and performed by the theatrical troupe of “Z’improbables” (a troupe of Espoir 18). This artistic initiative became a way for the group to learn to express themselves on sometimes complex subjects. As for Lettres à Nour, it is a play adapted from Rachid Benzine’s novel and directed by him, performed by Farid Abdelkrim and Céline Dély, which aims to deconstruct the ideology of Daech and challenge the certainties of the spectators.  

For the first evening of theatre, which took place on Saturday 9 July at the Union Française de Montréal in Downtown Montreal, nearly 40 people were present to see the plays. The audience also had the opportunity to discuss with the group after the performances.   

On Monday, July 11, Espoir 18 and the ICPC were hosted in Montreal North by the organizations Parole d’excluEs and Hoodstock for a visit to the Pelletier homes, the Parole d’excluEs’ offices, and to the place de l’Espoir. These visits allowed the group to exchange with local stakeholders and to learn more about the realities of the neighborhood.  

 

In the evening, the second theatrical performance took place at Espace 7000 in Montreal North, welcoming nearly 75 people. The audience also had the opportunity to discuss with the group the issues raised by the plays, the background of these plays, and the impact that this type of engagement has had on the young people since the beginning of the process.   

 

Thank you to all the participants who attended the events.    

The ICPC took part in a CMCNP Workshop

On March 24, 2022, the ICPC was pleased to attend the workshop on the Role of School Professionals in the Prevention of Social Polarization and Violent Radicalization, organized by the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention.

A panel discussion highlighted some of the research and stimulated knowledge exchange to better understand and build school-based approaches to prevent social polarisation and violent radicalisation.

Among other things, this workshop allowed for interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder collaboration among participants to meet, learn from, and hear from practitioners and service providers in the area of social polarization and radicalization leading to violence, as well as school professionals (i.e. teachers, administrators, social workers, etc.) from across Canada.

We would like to thank the RMCPC for the invitation.

For more information: Video: School Professionals and the Prevention of Social Polarization and Violent Radicalization​ – YouTube

A new ICPC intern

In January 2022, the ICPC welcomed a new employee to the team: Eva Croci.

Eva, Research Assistant Intern, is currently doing her master’s in international public policy at Sherbrooke University. As part of her studies, she is doing a supervised project on Western far-right terrorism with the UNESCO Chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism, an ICPC partner. She gained experience as a research assistant at Sherbrooke University where she worked on issues related to terrorism and cybercrime. As part of her internship, she will work especially on projects with a focus on the prevention of the glorification of firearms on social media.

Publication by an ICPC partner

The UNESCO Chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism (UNESCO-PREV Chair), Sherbrooke University, partner of the ICPC, published this month an international exploratory study called “Améliorer l’évaluation en prévention de l’extrémisme violent, c’est l’affaire de tous !” (Improving evaluation in violent extremism prevention is everyone’s business!). This study aims to document the experiences, challenges, and learning of researchers and field workers who evaluated radicalization and violent extremism practices and programs in various western countries. It is based on semi-structured interviews of such researchers and field workers done by the ICPC and the UNESCO-PREV Chair in North America and Europe in early 2020.

Read the study (in French): Améliorer l’évaluation en prévention de l’extrémisme violent, c’est l’affaire de tous !

The ICPC takes part in an international conference on security

The ICPC was invited by the International Union of Railways (UIC), an ICPC partner, to take part in the 16th UIC World Security Congress held online on December 9th. The theme of the conference was the organization of security during major events, and subjects discussed included international cooperation during major events, lessons learned from UIC members, and emerging threats to transport security.

The ICPC’s presentation focused on its experience in preventing violence resulting from radicalization in an urban mobility context.

Training session on online hate prevention offered by the RÉSAL

As part of the development of the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (Network for exchange and local action support, RÉSAL)’s community of practice, an organization of which the ICPC is a member and the coordinator, a third training session of a series of activities planned this fall was held on November 4th. It focused on online hate prevention and aimed to familiarize the participants with the concepts of radicalization leading to violence and of hate-motivated acts. It also addressed various extremist expressions on social media, presented the existing initiatives and tools in the fight against online hate, and shared inspiring attitudes to face online hate.

The activity was hosted by Anne-Sophie Bedziri and Jeanne Plisson, advisors at the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence (CPRLV) on issues and challenges related to radicalization leading to violence.

Among the highlights of the workshop, there were:

  • The importance of properly deconstructing the vocabulary (radicalization, extremism, terrorism) to use it well. Radicalization itself can lead to social progress and positive actions and doesn’t necessarily imply violence.
  • The many forms that hate-motivated acts can take: hate-motivated incidents, hate speech, and hate crimes. While the latter falls under the jurisdiction of the law, it is still difficult to fight hate-motivated incidents and hate speech under current legislative measures.
  • Multiple resources can be combined to limit radicalization leading to violence and hate-motivated acts online. Expressing interest in the youth involved in these phenomena, encouraging doubt, and reinforcing protective factors, are important considerations for field workers.

More information about other training sessions offered:

Violence prevention in street gangs

Sexual violence prevention

Street work and youth intervention

These training sessions were carried out with the financial support of the City of Montreal.

New publication from an ICPC partner

The UNESCO Chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism (UNESCO-PREV Chair), Sherbrooke University, partner of the ICPC, has recently published a report titled "Constraints and opportunities in evaluating programs for prevention of violent extremism: how the practitioners see it". This report is based on semi-directed interviews conducted in an earlier study by the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) (Madriaza, Ponsot, & Marion, 2017) and on a focus group conducted by the UNESCO-PREV Chair in Ottawa, Canada, in March 2019.

To read the report: Constraints and opportunities in evaluating programs for prevention of violent extremism: how the practitioners see it 

The ICPC participates in International Prison Innovation Week

On June 24th, the ICPC will be presenting as part of International Prison Innovation Week organised by the Coinserta network that promotes innovation in the prison ecosystem. From 10:45 to 11:15 EDT, the ICPC, who is a member of said network, will deliver a presentation on the prevention of radicalization of violence in conditional release. Among the other speakers there are the University of Birmigham, the Centre for Reintegration Initiatives (CIRE) of the Catalonian Department of Justice, the University of Barcelona, the Norwegian Correctional Service, the Chilean Gendarmerie, the University of Belfast and the University of Glasgow.

The event will be hosted online on Zoom. Click here to sign up.